Lasting-machine.



No. 677,781, Patented July 2, 190i.

J. S. LADD. v

LASTING MACHINE.

(Application filed July 8, 1899.

2 Sheets$heet 2.

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFI E.

JOHN S. LADD, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. I

LASTlNG-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent N 0. 677,781, dated July 2,1901. Application filed July 8, 1899. Serial No. 723,219. (No model.)

To all whom it natty concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN S. LADD, acitizen of the United States,residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lasting-Machines;and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theartto which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to machines for lasting boots and shoes,and more particularly to lasting machines comprising stitch-formingmechanism which cooperates with the lasting instrumentalities in unitingthe upper to the sole of the shoe.

The object of the present invention is to combine with thestitch-forming devices of a welt and turn shoe sewing machine upperstretching and holding devices which stretch and hold the upper whilethe stitch-forming devices are operating tounite the upper to the soleof a boot or shoe, whereby the operation of lasting or conforming theupper to the contour of the last may be carried out simultaneously withthe securing of the upper to the sole.

The present invention therefore consists of the devices and combinationsof devices which will be hereinafter described and claimed.

The present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure 1 shows in side elevation the head of a machine embodyingthe invention, and Fig. 2 shows a front elevation of the machine asillustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows a view of the machine similar tothat shown in Fig. 1, with certain parts omitted for the sake ofclearness and illustrating in full and dotted lines the movement of thestretching device as it advances toward the upper. Fig. 4 shows theslide which carries the pusher and portions of the mechanism foradvancing and retracting it and looking it in its advanced position.

Similar reference characters will be employed throughout thespecification and drawings to designate corresponding parts of themachine.

In the drawings there is represented a welt and turn sewing-machineembodying the present invention, which machine in so far as the stitchforming instrumentalities are concerned is the well-known Goodyear weltand turn machine disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States No.412,704, and in which E is the back-rest, B the looper, a the awl, a.the needle, and a the channel-gage, all of which parts may be andpreferably are constructed, organized, and arranged toperformthestitchforming operation as the corresponding parts indicatedby similar reference characters of the patent hereinbefore referred to,and inasmuch as the construction, organization, and mode of operation ofsaid machine are familiar to those persons skilled in this art furtherdescription thereof in this specification is deemed unnecessary.

The lasting instrumentalities of the machine of the drawings comprise anupperstretching device which is constructed and arranged to engage theprojecting edge of the upper prior to the passage of the needletherethrough and to stretch the upper over the sole. The stretchingdevice is preferably arranged to impart to the upper a stretchingmovement inward over the edge of the last in a plane substantiallyparallel to thesurface of the sole and an upward-stretching movement 1in a direction substantially at right angles to the surface of the sole.The greater part ofthe stretching movement is the resultant of theinward and upward movements,:the movement in a plane substantiallyparallel to the surface of,the sole in practice being little more thansufficient to cause the stretching device to firmly grip the shoe-upper.In the present machine this stretching device is preferably constructedand arranged as follows: The stretching device is shown at 1, andconsists of a plate having formed on its forward edge teeth orprojections arranged to engage the edge of the upper. The stretchingdevice 1 is mounted on the forward end of a bell-crank lever 2, which isfulcrumedat its angle to a stud 3, which stud is carried by areciprocating slide 4:,arranged to reciprocate, preferably, in aninclined direction in the guideway 5, secured to the side of the head ofthe machine, as shown. clearly in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The slide 4;is reciprocated toward and from the work by means of a lever 6,fulcrumed on a post 7, secured in the frame of the machine, the lowerend of the'lever 6 being preferably slotted, as shown at 8, and engaging a screw 9, mounted in the end of the slide 4:, and the upper endof the lever 6 carries a cam-roll 10, engaging a cam-groove 11, formedin the face of a cam 12, mounted on a cam-shaft 14.

The above-described arrangement is such that a rotation of the cam 12will by means of the cam-groove 11 and lever 6 impart reciprocatingmovements to the slide 4 and the stretching device 1 to cause saiddevice to engage the edge of the upper of a boot or shoe, as shown inFig. 1 of the drawings, and impart thereto a stretching movement overthe edge of the last.

As hereinbefore set forth, it is designed that the stretching device 1also have a stretching movement in a line substantially at right anglesto the surface of the last, and for this purpose the arm'13 of thebell-crank lever 2 is provided with a stud 11 which as the slide 4is-advanced toward the shoe comes in contact with the back of theguideway 15 of the feed-slide of the machine and causes the lever 2 tobe rocked about its fulcrum 3, as shown in Fig. 3, thus raising theforward end of the lever 2 and imparting an upward movement to thestretching device 1. The lever 2 is restored to its normal position,with the stretching device 1 lowered and in contact with the uppersurface of the pusher or holder 17, to be described, upon which itslides, by means of a coiled spring 16, one end of which is secured tothe arm 13 of the lever 2.and the other end to a fixed part of theframe. The extent of the upward movement of the stretching device 1 maybe regulated by means of the stud 14, which is formed with ascrew-threaded exterior fitted into a bearing in the lever 2, whereby itmay be projected more or less to engage the back of the guideway 15sooner or later as it is advanced toward the shoe.

It will be noted that the arm of the bellcrank lever 2,which carries thestretching device 1, is, as shown in Fig. 2, curved laterally to theleft, and its free end is preferably positioned so that the stretchingdevice 1 will be in substantial alinement with the channel-gage of, sothat the channel-gage will form an abut- .ment, or, as it were, onemember of a stretching instru mentality whereof the stretching device 1forms the other member-that is, as the stretching device 1 is advancedtoward the workvit moves in substantial alinement with the channel-gageand grips the upper against the channel-gage, thus insuring that theteeth.

of the stretching device 1 will penetrate the upper and impart theretothe inward and upward stretching movements against the rear face of thechannel-gage a. I desire to state in this connection, however, thatwhile the illustrated embodiment just described is the preferred formand arrangement of my invention it is in no respect limited thereto, asI have obtained good results by locating the stretching device 1 uponeither side of the channel-gage a. i

After the upper has been stretched by the stretching device 1", ashereinbefore described,

it should be held against the edge of the sole during the action of thestitch-forming mech anism and, particularly in the case of turned shoes,should be forced closely in the angle or shoulder formed by the channelor lip cut in the sole, and for this purpose I have provided a pusher orholder 17, which is provided with a forward beveled end arranged toengage the upper below the point at which it is engaged by thestretching device and force it closely within the angle or shoulder ofthe sole, as hereinbefore described. For this purpose the pusher 17 hasimparted to it reciprocating movements toward and from the shoe, andsuch movements are conveniently obtained by mounting the pusher upon theslide 18, which slide is substantially the slide Niwhich carries thewelt-guide in the machine of the patent hereinbefore referred to, andsaid slide 18 is preferably advanced and retracted by a lever Z, link m,and spring 3 and locked in its advanced position by a pawl s and ratchet8 all of which may be and preferably are constructed and arranged asdescribed in said patent and which need not herein be specifically setforth.

It will be noted that the slides 1 and 18,

which carry the stretching device and the pusher or holder, reciprocatein substantially the plane of the bottom of the last. By thisarrangement the stretching device and the pusher or holder perform theirrespective functions without tending to disturb or knock down the shoein the hands of the operator.

The operation of the machine of the drawings is as follows: The upper isdrawn onto the last in the usual way preparatory to lasting the samethatis, it is drawn over at the heel, toe, and shank-and tacks or temporaryfasteners are inserted through the upper into the last at the toe, heel,and shank, all as is usual in preparing shoes for lasting. The shoe isnow presented to the machine, substantially as indicated in Fig. 1 ofthe drawings,with the channel-gage a engaging the channel of the sole.Motion now being imparted to the machine, the slide 4 will-be advancedtoward the work and the stretching device 1 will engage the edge of theupper, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, imparting thereto astretching movement substantially in the plane of the surface of thesole over the edge of the last, and a continued forward movement of theslide 4; will cause the projection 1i to engage the back of the guideway15 of the feed-slide and rock the lever 2 about its fulcrum, impartingan upward movement to the stretching device 1, thus stretching the upperin a line substantially at right angles to the surface ofthe soleagainst the back of the channel guide a. As the stretching device 1moves upward, the pusher 17 will be advanced and engage the upper belowthe stretching device 1 and force it closely into the angle formed bythe shoulder of the solo, in which position it will be locked, holdingthe upper closely against the shoulder of the sole, while thestitch-forming devices are actuated to force the needle through the edgeof the upper and the between substance of the sole and to form a stitch,thus securing the edge of the upper to the sole, after which thestretching device will be retracted, also the pusher or holder, and theshoe will be fed by the work-feeding instrumentalities of the machine tobring the shoe into position for another operation of the machine, andthis is continued until the shoe being operated upon is fully lasted.

Having described the construction, organization, and mode of operationof my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentof the United States 1. In a lasting-machine, the combination with anupper-stretching device and its carrier, of a pusher or holder and itscarrier, independent mechanisms to actuate the carriers to advancethestretching device to stretch the upper, and to thereafter force thepusher or holder against the upper, the paths of movement of thestretching device and the pusher or holder being substantially in theplane of the bottom of the last, substantially as described.

2. In a lasting-machine, the combination with an upper-stretchingdevice, and mechanism to impart thereto first a movement toward the lastin substantially the plane of the bottom of the last and thereafter amovement at substantially a right angle to the bottom of the last, of apusher or holder cooperating with said stretching device to engage theupper below the stretching device and force it against the shoulder ofthe sole, substantially as described.

3. In a lastingmachine the combination with a stretching device, andmechanism to cause said stretching device to engage the upper and impartthereto first inward, and there= after upward stretching movements, of apusher arranged to engage the upper below the stretching device andmeans to lock the pusher in its advanced position, substantially asdescribed.

4. In a lasting-machine the combination with stitch-forming mechanism,of an upperstretching device and its carrier, a pusher or 5 5 holder andits carrier, and independent mechanisms for actuating the carriers tocause'the stretching device to stretch the upper over the sole and thepusher or holder to engage the upper below the stretching device andhold it while the stitch-forming mechanism is actuated to unite theupper and sole, substantially as described.

5. In a lasting-machine the combination with stitch-forming mechanism,of a stretch- 6 5 ing device and means to actuate the same to cause itto engage the upper and impart thereto a stretching movement firstsubstantially in the plane of the bottom of the last and thereaftersubstantially at a right angle to the bottom of the last, a pusher orholder and mechanism to actuate the pusher or holder to cause it toengage the upper and hold it while the stitch-forming mechanism isactuated to unite the upper and sole,- substantially as de- 7 5

